Typhoid Harry 23 Posted July 6, 2004 Boo! Stayin, boo! -10 points for taking the obvious route. Sure and I've always considered my self the king of groaners, I hereby surrender my crown. Two things I still have curiosity about, however, are: 1. Does anyone "get" the Typhoid Mary reference? Over the past few days I've asked several Europeans about the reference, and none have known what I was referring to. (Oh, sh*t, I just realized I overlooked a possible crossover interpretation of this nom de plume. Well, NO, okay, OOPS! Okay! ) And, uh, damn, got called away and forgot what the second thing was. I'm sure I'll recall tomorrow... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stayin Alive 26 Posted July 7, 2004 I have to be brutally honest with you, I really don't get it. I hear rumours that other people don't get it either. I read the first page of that link you posted, but I really wasn't getting it at all and there appeared to be many more pages left to read. It isn't for the want of trying to understand it. Perhaps us Europeans just don't get it? Can you give us a synopsis of the story so far, and, in doing so, solve the mystery of Typhoid Mary, once and for all... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Yeti 14 Posted July 7, 2004 http://www.newsday.com/extras/lihistory/7/hs702a.htm But I'm none the wiser. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Typhoid Harry 23 Posted July 7, 2004 http://www.newsday.com/extras/lihistory/7/hs702a.htm "Like millions before and since, she came to this country from Ireland, seeking a better life. Instead, she was forced by public health officials to live for a total of 26 years on a tiny island in the East River, isolated from and shunned by her fellow humans. And while she was not the only one of her kind, her name became synonymous with disease and death. She was Typhoid Mary, and her story really begins on Long Island." Yikes, what part of "her name became synonymous with disease and death" didn't anyone get? Mary Mallon was credited (blamed?) with bringing Typhoid Fever to the United States, thus killing countless people. Since I'm a rather macho kind of guy who would have felt a bit odd using Mary as a screen name here, I chose a male name that rhymed with Mary (rejecting Larry, Jerry, etc... in favor of Harry because of the Prince by that name) in the optomistic belief the inference would be obvious. Alas, it was not to be, and a joke is never as funny if you have to explain it. My fault, obviously, but I tried... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim Reaper 183 Posted July 7, 2004 Thanks for the explanation Harry - Im sure we can put the fact nobody understood your name as a loss in translation across the Atlantic, so Im sure youve earned the benefit of the doubt We've certainly been accused of being too northern hemispere-centric but its probably fair to it goes even further than that. Anyway globalisation of the DL forum members is to be welcomed, if only to ensure that Clive Dunn gets full worldwide recognition when he finally goes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Typhoid Harry 23 Posted July 7, 2004 I understand, GR, I've long been a proponent of calling the language spoken in the U.S. "American" rather than "English". That being said, I have had a lot of exposure to the languages spoken in the U.K. (you have almost as many dialects as the U.S.) and I still have a problem with some references. It took years before I was able to stop translating "fook" in my head when speaking to my friends in Manchester Oh, yeah, that "other" question I forgot yesterday, doesn't winning a Nobel Prize pretty much cover the famous question, regardless of general recognition? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Typhoid Harry 23 Posted July 7, 2004 An overlooked resource (for discussions, not for lists, it would be a bit late)? http://www.celebritydeathbeeper.com/ And in the "any ink is good ink" department... http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/pop...pop-candy_x.htm And I sent the author an email pointing out the ommission of the international aspect along with a link to the Deathlist site. Cheeky broad! (Note the succesful combination of English and American slang, so diplomatic. ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Yeti 14 Posted July 7, 2004 Does Harry really rhyme with Mary in American ? Strangely in English it don't. Hmmm .... Typhoid Carey ... too girly again. Typhoid Hairy ... too yetiish Typhoid Wary ... too cautious Typhoid Scary ... Typhoid Airy ... not enough substance Typhoid Contrary ... make up your mind ! Typhoid Fairy ... interesting ... fancy that one ? (does the double meaning of fairy occur in American ?) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Typhoid Harry 23 Posted July 8, 2004 Okay, I'll bite, how does one pronounce 'Harry" in the U.K? Obviously I've not encountered the name while over there. And, yes, Harry rhymes with 'Mary' in the States, as well as Hairy, and I, too, thought it too Yeti-ish. And what, my furry friend, other meaning than "buggerer" could "Fairy" possibly have? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Yeti 14 Posted July 8, 2004 Harry rhymes with Marry here. Hairy rhymes with Mary. But Harry does not sound like Hairy. Sounds like one of those logical puzzles. If Sue is ... As for fairy, there is the original meaning of a little pixie with wings. Tinkerbell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Typhoid Harry 23 Posted July 8, 2004 Hey, who are you calling Tinkerbell? Damn, I really thought that the construct of my question would reveal the sarcasm, of course I know the primary meaning of fairy. Not to mention the laughing emoticon. Think you're confused know? We pronounce "Mary" and "marry" exactly the same here, so I STILL don't know how you pronounce "Harry". Wow, there really is a language gap, isn't there? And I've always considered myself rather, uh, continental (?) when it came to English vs. American. Two logic puzzlers I love to pose to religious types: Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons (navels)? If God can do anything, can he create a rock so big that he can't lift it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
honez 79 Posted July 8, 2004 If God can do anything, can he create a rock so big that he can't lift it? Why not ask him? He's one of DL's members. In fact, don't worry, he's omnipotent, so he'll have already read the question anyway. My bet is that he can move it. But only mysteriously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Four Horsemen 25 Posted July 8, 2004 He/She (in the interests of parity) would probably have to create a very large crane to move aformentioned large rock, but after he/she's moved it, where would they put it? No room under the bed or on top of the wardrobe in the God household, it's already too full of everything in the universe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim Reaper 183 Posted July 8, 2004 I heard God has been looking into some of those handy extra storage products they have at Ikea... That may solve the storage issues for this universe but doesn't God also preside over those infinite number of parallel universes? or has that been outsourced now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stayin Alive 26 Posted July 8, 2004 Yeah, but does God know about the secret inbuilt cut-throughs and secret exits in Ikea stores? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rude Kid 3 Posted July 9, 2004 Talking of Ikea... http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pikea.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Typhoid Harry 23 Posted July 12, 2004 Egads, that's bad! Off topic, is there anyone on this board living (or dying? Hah, got topical after all) anywhere near Royal Troon? The Open Championship starts Thursday, yeeha! Good American that I am, my money's on Ernie Els. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canadian Paul 93 Posted February 24, 2006 Well, if guests are useful for one thing, perhaps it's bringing to light threads that should be closed? Thought admittedly, I'm aware of the extreme hypocracy of this post after my huge fight to get the other threads unlocked... but this one isn't about a person, and it seems that it has more to do with a User Name than anything... maybe a merge instead? I'm not sure. Maybe we should have a moderator/informal consensus before threads are locked, unless it's obvious like, "Who will be hit number 2" after we've already had hit #2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Busby Airlines 7 Posted February 25, 2006 Well, if guests are useful for one thing, perhaps it's bringing to light threads that should be closed? Thought admittedly, I'm aware of the extreme hypocracy of this post after my huge fight to get the other threads unlocked... but this one isn't about a person, and it seems that it has more to do with a User Name than anything... maybe a merge instead? I'm not sure. Maybe we should have a moderator/informal consensus before threads are locked, unless it's obvious like, "Who will be hit number 2" after we've already had hit #2. Anything older than 18 months should be locked.(July 2004??) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slave to the Grave 22 Posted February 25, 2006 Well, if guests are useful for one thing, perhaps it's bringing to light threads that should be closed? Thought admittedly, I'm aware of the extreme hypocracy of this post after my huge fight to get the other threads unlocked... but this one isn't about a person, and it seems that it has more to do with a User Name than anything... maybe a merge instead? I'm not sure. Maybe we should have a moderator/informal consensus before threads are locked, unless it's obvious like, "Who will be hit number 2" after we've already had hit #2. Anything older than 18 months should be locked.(July 2004??) I don't understand why threads need to be locked at all unless they get really out of hand. Old threads are often revisited because the subject matter becomes topical again, if we lock them just because they are old, we'll end up with lots of duplication. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godot 149 Posted February 25, 2006 Well, if guests are useful for one thing, perhaps it's bringing to light threads that should be closed? Thought admittedly, I'm aware of the extreme hypocracy of this post after my huge fight to get the other threads unlocked... but this one isn't about a person, and it seems that it has more to do with a User Name than anything... maybe a merge instead? I'm not sure. Maybe we should have a moderator/informal consensus before threads are locked, unless it's obvious like, "Who will be hit number 2" after we've already had hit #2. Anything older than 18 months should be locked.(July 2004??) I don't understand why threads need to be locked at all unless they get really out of hand. Old threads are often revisited because the subject matter becomes topical again, if we lock them just because they are old, we'll end up with lots of duplication. Too right Slave, it's all becoming a bit insititutionalised and clubby, too many people trying to be God instead of cheery undertakers. Nations must have emerged like this, everybody enjoying themselves then some of them ganging up and introducing rules, then building castles and putting up fences then cutting people's hands off because they stole a chicken. I'm with Wallace (that's William by the way, not Grommit's friend, although I'm with him too). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godot 149 Posted February 25, 2006 PS. I'm buggered if I know what this thread is about. I know a lot of Americans and none of the ones I know makes Harry rhyme with Mary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canadian Paul 93 Posted February 25, 2006 I don't understand why threads need to be locked at all unless they get really out of hand. Old threads are often revisited because the subject matter becomes topical again, if we lock them just because they are old, we'll end up with lots of duplication. As I said in my post, I fought to have some of the threads that were lock unlocked because I think they meritted further discussion. This thread has nothing really to do with imminent death, wasn't responded to for ages until some guest posted trash in the forum, and really just relates to someone's user name. Maybe not locked then, but at least merged with Member User Names? I'm all for keeping discussion open on as many threads as possible, but I also firmly believe that a lot of the threads we have could be merged with each other for ease of viewing without cluttering up the threads themselves or having them get lost in the shuffle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrunoBrimley 85 Posted February 28, 2006 PS. I'm buggered if I know what this thread is about. I know a lot of Americans and none of the ones I know makes Harry rhyme with Mary. scrwwisest part of this has to be that when you fined a person who might say "oh hello Harry making itr sound like Hairy they would usually have the accent which would maketh them say mary more like marry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Godot 149 Posted February 28, 2006 PS. I'm buggered if I know what this thread is about. I know a lot of Americans and none of the ones I know makes Harry rhyme with Mary. scrwwisest part of this has to be that when you fined a person who might say "oh hello Harry making itr sound like Hairy they would usually have the accent which would maketh them say mary more like marry. So if someone called Harry is planning to marry someone called Mary you would say: "Hairy is going to mary Marry." Is that about it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
